A unanimous three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals offered a mixed verdict this morning in a lawsuit pitting a charter school against the New Hanover County school system. A trial court ordered the county school system to pay Charter Day School more than $138,000 because of miscalculation of the funds owed to the charter school. But the appellate judges reversed part of the decision, agreeing that the school system should not be forced to include all of its “fund balance,” a form of savings account, in calculations about the money owed to the charter school. On the other hand, the appeals court did uphold the trial court’s ruling that the school system could not use prekindergarten students to skew per-pupil funding numbers to the charter school’s disadvantage.

In an unpublished opinion in a separate case, a unanimous three-judge panel used the same reasoning about school systems’ fund balances to reverse a trial court’s ruling that Wake County’s school system should pay $126,000 to the Torchlight Academy charter school.

Among other opinions released this morning:

  • A unanimous three-judge panel reversed a trial court and ruled against the state Administrative Office of the Courts in a dispute with LexisNexis over access to the state’s Automated Criminal/Infraction System database. The appellate judges agreed ACIS is a public record that should be turned over upon request.
  • A split 2-1 panel reversed a lower court ruling and ruled against Wake Forest Medical Center and others sued over the death of a dental patient.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a lower-court ruling favoring the state treasurer’s office in a dispute with a business called Equity Solutions that seeks surplus funds from foreclosure sales.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel affirmed a trial-court ruling against Davidson County in a dispute over granting of a permit for a new radio tower.
  • A unanimous three-judge panel reversed the N.C. Industrial Commission and ruled in favor of the state Juvenile Justice Division in a salary dispute involving a worker injured on the job.